Reverend James A. Shanley

Archdiocese of Hartford

Pastoral Planning

The Chancery

134 Farmington Avenue

Hartford, CT 06105

[phone]/Fax [phone]

Reverend James A. Shanley

Vicar for Pastoral Planning

Deacon Ernest Scrivani, T.O. Carm.

Director of Pastoral Planning

OVERVIEW

What are the basics of the pastoral plan?

As of June 29, 2017, there will be 127 parishes in the Archdiocese of Hartford (AOH), instead of the current 212.

+68 parishes will remain as they are;

+144 parishes will be involved in mergers resulting in 59 new parishes. The mergers will involve unions of two to six parishes;

+186 church buildings will remain open;

+26 church buildings will close, inasmuch as regularly scheduled Masses will no longer be held in them.

The AOH is made up of Hartford, Litchfield and New Haven Counties in Connecticut, and was established as a diocese on November 28, 1843 and created as an archdiocese on August 6, 1953.

There are 186 archdiocesan priests serving 545,980 Catholics within the AOH.

Currently, the AOH serves 112 towns/cities with 212 churches in three counties.

The reconfiguration of the parishes in the AOH comes as a result of a comprehensive pastoral process, which examined many factors including: changing demographics, available priests, parish attendance, sacramental administration and finances. The process never lost sight of how to best serve the faithful.

Cities in Connecticut Served by AOH

Ansonia, Avon, Bantam, Barkhamsted, Beacon Falls, Berlin, Bethany, Bethlehem, Bloomfield, Branford, Bridgewater, Bristol, Broad Brook, Canaan, Canton, Cheshire, Colebrook, Collinsville, Cornwall, Cornwall Bridge, Derby, Devon, East Berlin, East Granby, East Hartford, East Hartland, East Haven, East Windsor, Elmwood, Enfield, Falls Village, Farmington, Forestville, Glastonbury, Goshen, Granby, Guilford, Hamden, Hartford, Hartland, Harwinton, Kensington, Kent, Lakeville, Litchfield, Madison, Manchester, Marlborough, Meriden, Milldale, Middlebury, Milford, Mount Carmel, Naugatuck, New Britain, New Hartford, New Haven, New Milford, New Preston, Newington, Norfolk, North Branford, North Canaan, North Haven, Northfield, Northford, Oakville, Orange, Oxford, Plainville, Plantsville, Pleasant Valley, Plymouth, Poquonock, Prospect, Rocky Hill, Roxbury, Salisbury, Seymour, Sharon, Simsbury, South Glastonbury, South Meriden, South Windsor, Southbury, Southington, Suffield, Tariffville, Terryville, Thomaston, Torrington, Union City, Unionville, Wallingford, Warren, Washington Depot, Waterbury, Watertown, Weatogue, West Hartford, West Haven, West Simsbury, Wethersfield, Winchester, Windsor, Windsor Locks, Winsted, Wolcott, Woodbridge, Woodbury, Woodmont, Yalesville.

ARCHDIOCESAN STATISTICS

	1965	2015	% CHANGE
# of Catholics	751,192	545,980	(-27)
# of infant baptisms	19,922	5,275	(-74)
# of Catholic marriages	4,545	1,082	(-76)
# of archdiocesan seminarians	193	23	(-88)
# of active archdiocesan priests	535	186	(-65)
# of religious sisters	2068	579	(-78)
Average Mass attendance	395,102 (in 1969)	123,502	(-69)
# of parishes	195	212	+9
# of parochial elementary schools	101	44	(-56)
# of parochial students	43,036	8,303	(-81)